Katie Boulter’s amazing 12-match winning streak at the Nottingham Open was ended by McCartney Kessler in the quarter-finals on Friday.

Boulter was bidding for a third straight title in Nottingham, having won in 2023 and 2024, but she went down to a 6-3 3-6 6-4 defeat to American Kessler.

The British No 2 appeared to be on course to reach the semi-finals, leading 4-2 up with a break of serve in the final set, but lost the last four games, including her serve twice, to go down.

That saw her 12-match winning run on her home court come to an end.

American Kessler said: “It was a really tight match, it was close. I wanted to stay within myself and keep playing my game and luckily I came out on top.

“We are both aggressive players, so there was a lot of shot-making.

“I am trying to get as many titles as I can and put myself in the position to win titles. I am looking forward to the rest of the weekend.”

She will play Rebecca Sramkova in Saturday’s semi-finals.

Dayana Yastremska will play Magda Linette in the other semi-final.

Ukrainian Yastremska beat former US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez 6-3 7-6 (8-6) in the quarter-final.

Linette downed top seed Clara Tauson 6-2 7-5 to book her spot in the last four.

Sabalenka’s great escape

World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka produced a stunning escape in the quarter-finals of the Berlin Tennis Open against Elena Rybakina after two-hours and 42 minutes.

Trailing the 2022 Wimbledon champion 6-2 in the final-set tiebreak, Sabalenka won six straight points to claim a 7-6 (8-6) 3-6 7-6 (8-6) comeback victory.

“Elena, she’s a great player and we’ve had a lot of tough battles. I have no idea how I was able to win those last points. I think I just got lucky, to be honest,” Sabalenka confessed afterwards.

“I remember a long time ago when I was just starting, I won a lot of matches being down match points, and not so long ago, I was thinking that it’s been a while since I’ve made a crazy comeback, and here I am.

“It’s amazing to win matches like that and I’m proud of myself for how I stayed in. I was fighting, I was trying until the very last point.”

Sabalenka will face Czech Marketa Vondrousova next after the Czech defeated Ons Jabeur 6-4 6-1 in a rematch of the 2023 Wimbledon final.

Chinese qualifier Xinyu Wang advanced after eighth seed Paula Badosa retired due to a right hip injury during their quarter-final clash. The 23-year-old Wang is enjoying a breakout week in the German capital, beating second seed Coco Gauff in the previous round.

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